And So It Begins
by elphabaisfae
Summary: The first chapter in the life of Elphaba, the Tarutaru of Midgardsormr.


This is the story of someone who is eternally misunderstood. This is the story of a little Tarutaru who, despite everything against her, tries to rise above herself.

This is Elphaba's story.

In the depths of the forests outside San d'Oria, in a little shack in the middle of the Norvallen region, there lived a family. An Elvaan Monk father and a Hume mother, both out of their element, both in love - or so they thought. Her story can best be explained by a travelling show in the bustling city of Jeuno and a momentary weakness by a woman who was only lonely. With her husband roaming the land preaching his religion, her weakness can only be explained by a brush with the devil on her shoulder.

At first, the couple were ecstatic. They made a room in their small, yet cozy house, and prepared for the new arrival. The night of her birth was a stormy one, with many rumbles of thunder and gusts of wind. Her father tried to be brave, but as the child was born, her mother cried out to anyone to save her, and passed out from exhaustion. He wept as the child was put into his arms - not tears of joy, but tears of sorrow, tears of bitterness. For this child, his firstborn, could not have been his.

For she was Tarutaru, and there was no other explanation but deceit.

He named her a good strong name, Elphaba, and vowed to take care of her just the same as if she was his own. But inside, even from a young age, Elphaba could tell that he didn't always mean everything he said.

But our Tarutaru princess grew up playing among the Tigers and Mushrooms in Norvallen, skipping through the forest carefully on her way to play in the lake. She often saw adventurers running by, either on chocobo, or by foot, and always stopped to wave. Her life was carefree, at least, for a while. She grew into her size rather quickly, like Tarutaru do, much to the relief of her parents.

Until the day she came home from running a quick errand to a nearby outpost and was told to pack her little room immediately, for they were moving into the city of San d'Oria. A war was about to break out between cities and it was time to pick a side. Her father had chosen to side with his people rather than anywhere else - and side he did. As soon as Elphaba and her heavily pregnant mother were secure in a small, one windowed apartment in the southern part of the city, he threw himself into missionary work at the Chateau. He was not home very often, and when he was home, it was always he and her mother, while Elphaba was told to go to her room, for these were matters of which she should not be concerned of.

Amidst all the whispers, and constant struggles, his wife had another child, and Elphaba now had a sister who was indeed, Elvaan. And she knew, from the instant her father laid eyes upon Nessarose, that things would never be the same.

After Nessa's birth, her mother took to playing with Nessarose, and dismissing Elphaba with a flick of her wrist. "We live in the city now, you can find things to do." So Elphaba would venture out, but always would come back crying, inevitably bruised, bloodied, or beaten for her size. Many Elvaan adults merely looked down at her and patted her head, never taking her seriously.

To make matters worse, her father arranged at an early age that his daughter would be married off young, to become a dutiful mother and serve Altana well. In this, she was betrothed to a Bastokan mage, and that was, indeed the end of it.

So there Elphaba stayed, miserable through her childhood, always curious, until one day, as she sat among the trees in Ronfaure, she decided to ask the one question after dinner she had been wanting to ask for a long time. She felt it was finally time to ask to be let go, to go venture to another city, where maybe she could escape the dark cloud that had been hanging over her life.

"Father, can..." She trailed off as she entered the house to find Nessarose being cradled, both sobbing away. "Father? Nessa? What's wrong?" She looked frantically around the house, and ran back into the front room. "Where's Momma? What happened to Momma?"

Her father looked at her with stone cold eyes, and whispered, "She's dead, Elphaba. She was taken on her way to Jeuno and ... she died." Nessarose started crying again, and before she could stop herself, Elphaba screamed, "It's all your fault! You never let me learn, and kept me inside! I could have saved her, I could have been an adventurer! But now she's dead, and it's all your fault!" Her father looked up at her shocked, as Elphaba tore past and grabbed her small bag that she had packed a few days prior. She walked back downstairs to find Nessa curled up in a chair, her father standing and glowering down from his height. She broadened her shoulders, walked over to Nessa and hugged her one last time through the streaming tears, whispered "Stay safe, Sister, I'll see you again... I swear, i'll be back." Nessa nodded, bleakly, and Elphaba faced her father. "I'll make you proud, Father, even if you aren't my true father." With that, she opened the door and ran, teary eyed and alone, into the cold San d'Orian night. 


End file.
